Kerala Govt Not Cooperating For Angamali-Sabarimala New Line Project: Piyush Goyal Writes To CM Vijayan

Union Minister of Railways, Piyush Goyal wrote a letter to Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday to apprise him of the ‘lack of co-operation’ on the part of state government on the issue of the Angamali-Sabarimala new line project. The letter states how works on the project couldn’t be taken forward due to protests by local people against land acquisition and fixing of alignment of the line. “This is to bring to your kind attention the lack of co-operation on the part of Kerala state govt on the important issue of the Angamali-Sabarimala new line project”, Goyal writes to Vijayan.

The letter adds, “This project was included in Railway Budget 1997-98 at a cost of Rs 550 crore. Against this, part estimate for long lead items amounting to Rs 517.70 crore including Rs 58.76 crore as the land cost of the entire project, was sanctioned in May, 2006.”

“Consequently, in this project, work on Angamali-Kaladi (7 km) and long lead work on Kaladi-Perumbavoor (10 km) have been taken up. However, further works on this project could not be taken forward due to protests by local people against land acquisition and fixing of alignment of the line, court cases filed against the project and non-cooperation from the State Government of Kerala”, the Union Minister wrote.

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Piyush Goyal added that the protests and lack of co-operation delayed the execution of the above project and as a result, project cost has increased exponentially from Rs 550 crore in 1997 to Rs 1,566 crore including land cost of Rs 719 crore in 2011 and further, Rs 2,815 crore (including land cost of Rs 965 crore) in 2017.

"This has badly delayed the execution of the above project and as a result, project cost has increased exponentially from Rs 550 crore in 1997 to Rs 1,566 crore including land cost of Rs 719 crore in 2011 and further, Rs 2,815 crore (including land cost of Rs 965 crore) in 2017," he said.

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Government of India had requested the Government of Kerala in letters dated 06.09.2011, 22.12.2011, and 08.10.2012 to share at least 50 per cent cost of the project. The government of Kerala had also identified this project for execution under the Joint Venture Scheme with Ministry of Railways and therefore, agreed to share 50 per cent cost of the project. An MoU was also signed on 01.09.2016.

However, within a year, the state government vide letter No. 667/16/CM dated 15.11.2016 withdrew their own consent to share 50 per cent cost of the project. This sudden change in policy was surprising and against the interest of developing Railways in Kerala, and brought into question the state government's commitment to this important project, Minister Goyal added in the letter.